Photography by Christopher Stevenson
Essie Weingarten steps off the elevator on the penthouse level of New York’s Mondrian SoHo hotel and is greeted by a wall covered floor to ceiling with framed photos of the most iconic nail polish shades she’s created over the past 30 years. “Oh my God, this is amazing!” she says, marvelling at the tributes to colours like “Mademoiselle,” “Wicked” and “Chinchilly” that her team has surprised her with as part of a dinner in her honour. As the founder of one of the most well-known brands in the category—seriously, walk into any nail bar, particularly in Manhattan, and you’ll see that her bottles dominate the shelves—Weingarten, originally from Queens, has much to celebrate. Not only did L’Oréal acquire her company in 2010, providing distribution of Essie to even more countries, but her colours are worn by everyone from the Queen (Her Majesty is fond of “Ballet Slippers”) to Lady Gaga (she paired “Merino Cool” with her infamous meat dress). Read more »
